A MONDAY VIEW FROM A PEW “Everybody Ain’t Your Friend.”

Let me tell you this hard truth stop calling too many people “friend” when God’s been trying to tell you otherwise. My Grandmother had a prophetic tongue long before we knew what prophecy was, and she used to say, “Baby, if you got two or three real friends, you’re already blessed.” And the older I get, the more I realize she wasn’t exaggerating—she was telling the truth that only life can teach.

See, we live in a world where folks hand out the title friend the way some people hand out business cards—fast, easy, and without discernment. But everybody smiling in your face ain’t standing in your corner. Everybody sitting at your table ain’t praying for your victory. Some folks are around for the moment… not the mission.

A real friend?
A real friend is somebody who’ll sit in the dark with you until the light returns. Somebody who will cover you when your name is under attack, correct you when your spirit gets sideways, and love you even when you ain’t at your best.

A real friend will encourage you when you’re empty… speak life into you when you’re broken… and show up for you when showing up ain’t convenient.

A real friend can love you—and you can love them back—without keeping score.

But let me tell you this truth:
You don’t actually know who your friends are until a storm hits your life and knocks the props out from under you. It’s when the money dries up… when the resources run out… when the heart gets shattered… when God feels far away… that you find out who’s real and who was just renting space in your life.

Associates walk with you in sunshine.
Friends walk with you in valleys.
Associates are around for the benefits.
Friends are around for the battle.
Associates disappear when the winds blow.
Friends anchor themselves and say, “I’m not going anywhere.”

So stop walking around calling everybody your friend.
Everybody ain’t earned that title. Everybody don’t deserve that access.

But if God has blessed you with even one or two people who are truly ride-or-die—who cover you, check you, uplift you, and stay with you through the storms—then listen to Grandma: you are already blessed beyond measure.

Protect your circle.
Honor your friendships.
And thank God for the ones who stayed when life tried to scatter everybody else.